Erema subsidiary partners with Cadel Deinking

As of January 2021, Erema subsidiary Keycycle GmbH will take over worldwide sales and project implementation for Cadel Deinking, a Spanish-based developer of technology to remove printing inks from plastic surfaces. The technology is patented in more than 20 countries.

Additionally, Keycycle will operate the pilot system in Alicante, Spain, together with Cadel Deinking.

"Together, we are making ink-removal technology a process step that can be integrated into the plastics recycling chain," says Michal Prochazka, managing director of Keycycle, and Pablo Cartagena, business development manager at Cadel Deinking.

Printing inks pose challenges in plastics recycling. While design for recycling strategies call for reducing printing directly on packaging film, Keycycle says it often is not possible to eliminate it completely in many different applications for film products.

Ansfelden, Austria-based Erema has been working with Cadel Deinking since June 2020 with the aim of removing printing inks during the recycling process. The technology they have developed removes the ink from the shredded film before the material is fed into the recycling extruder. Combined with an Erema Intarema extruder, the ink removal process has been successful during test runs, according to a news release about the partnership issued by Keycycle.

The company adds that orders already have been placed for five deinking systems.

"We see great potential in developing this new technology for recycling solutions to process in-house and postindustrial waste film ecologically and cost-effectively,” says Manfred Hackl, CEO of the Erema Group. “It will increase our market presence and expand our range of products for particularly challenging turnkey recycling solutions. It is also an important step towards closing plastic cycles."

Hackle says he also is thinking about developing the technology so it can be integrated into washing systems made by various manufacturers.

"We are delighted that with Keycycle we can continue along the route we started when our company was founded six years ago," says Rafael Garcia Vidal, managing director of Cadel Deinking.